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DDD: The Root of the Problem (Reply)

Title: The Root of the ProblemFandom: Drama Drama Duck (Gyakuten Saiban, Tales of Symphonia)Rating: PGWarnings: None!Word Count: 763Pairings or characters involved: sliiiight Phoenix/Zelos maybe?Notes: Uh. T-This pairing is kind of my OTP, thanks a lot, roleplay. ALSO I don't particularly like this fic that much, but the idea was too good to let go.

Phoenix wasn't sure what he was going to do.

They'd found a scrap of paper at the crime scene, algebraic scribbles covering it. At the bottom corner, two equations were circled in red.

t^2 – 4t - r = 52t - 1/5r = 1

At the moment, he wasn't quite sure how it pertained to his client, or if it even did – the crime scene was a classroom, after all. At 2:00 in the afternoon three days prior, in classroom number 135, a fifth grade teacher was murdered. The primary suspect in the case was the teacher whose room was across the hall, Warren Keel. The police had done a complete background check on the suspect, which had been brought up in court earlier than day – Warren had a strong background in history, and had actually had to retake multiple math classes while in college. Therefore, the prosecution argued, the paper couldn't have anything to do with the current case.

Phoenix hadn't been completely convinced, but he'd given up that route during court. It wasn't as if he could figure out what it was supposed to mean.

As he sat there, studying the paper as if the answers would magically reveal themselves, the door to his office swung open. He looked up, halfway expecting it was Maya back from a lunch run, and was surprised to find Zelos in the doorway instead.

Phoenix smiled. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he asked, somewhat glad for the distraction. He told himself he really couldn't afford to waste time, but a few minutes really couldn't hurt. It would give his brain a chance to recuperate from the mathematical curse, at least.

"I just thought I'd drop by to see how that trial of yours was progressing~." Zelos grinned, approaching Phoenix's desk as he spoke. He spotted the paper Phoenix had been looking at, tilting his head slightly in interest. "What's up with the algebra?"

Phoenix glanced down at the paper, scowling at it. "I have no idea. It was found at the crime scene, and I can't make heads or tails of it."

Zelos raised an eyebrow in response, taking a closer look at the paper. "Has anyone tried solving the equations to see if there was anything hidden in the answers?"

"The prosecution was trying to prove that since my client has a very weak mathematical background, it couldn't be related to the case."

"Hmm~. And what if that means that it wasn't your client?"

Phoenix sighed. "As nice as that'd be, that would require understanding what it's talking about, which I don't."

"It's nothing too difficult. You have a piece of paper I can write on?"

Phoenix stared at him for a moment, before fumbling for paper. "Here," he said, sliding a blank sheet toward Zelos. As an afterthought, he handed him a pen.

Zelos began scrawling on the paper, and Phoenix watched, vaguely flabbergasted. He didn't follow what was happening as Zelos easily performed the required calculations, and he didn't want to try.

"Done~." Zelos put the pen down beside the paper. "The value of t is 14, and the value of r is 135."

"135...?" Phoenix blinked for a moment, before realization hit him. "That's the room number where the victim was killed!"

Zelos' eyes widened slightly. "Really? And what about the number fourteen...could it have another meaning? Time, perhaps?"

"The time was 2:00 in the afternoon...which is 14:00 on a 24-hour clock."

They looked at each other for a moment, and Zelos smiled. "Sounds like you got the breakthrough you needed to turn this thing around, huh?"

"I very well might have." Phoenix looked at the paper again, and then back at Zelos, shooting him a grateful smile. "Thanks. I don't think I would have figured it out."

Zelos continued to smile, waving a hand in dismissal as he headed for the door. "Well, I'll let you get back to work," he said, hand reaching out to rest on the doorknob.

"Hey..." Phoenix started, and Zelos paused, turning to look back at him. "Maya's supposed to be back with some food soon...why don't you stick around for a little? I might still need your help with this." He grinned. "Besides, isn't it about time I treated you to lunch?"

A look of confusion crossed Zelos' face, only to be quickly replaced by his trademark smile. "Hmm~. I guess I can do that." He sauntered back across the room, leaning against the wall right next to the window, and glanced outside.